Mukesh Ambani’s Jio speech crashes Bharti Airtel, Idea shares

Jio is offering data at Rs 50 per GB (base rate) against current rate of Rs 250/GB charged by peers

Shares of Bharti Airtel slumped to 8.99 per cent to hit a low of Rs 302 on BSE soon after Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani announced that Reliance Jio will provide unlimited free voice call, and data will be at Rs 50 per GB (base rate) against Rs 250 per GB charged on average by other internet providers.

Shares of Idea Cellular, the third largest telecom subscriber, also fell to 9.09 per cent to hit a 52-week low of Rs 85. Bharti lost Rs 12,000 crore in market capitalisation, while Idea Cellular eroded Rs 2,800 crore in market value, as per ET report.

“All voice calls for Jio customers will be absolutely free,” Ambani said. Ambani announced that roaming charges will also be zero and Jio will offer data at Rs 50 per GB (base rate) against current rate of Rs 250/GB charged by peers.

“We have price points starting from Rs 19 for the occasional data user, to a monthly rate of Rs 149 plan for the light data user and all the way up to a monthly Rs 4,999 plan for the heaviest data user,” Ambani said.

Ambani also emphasized on data saying that it would be affordable to all users. “Current market practice is to charge for data a base rate between Rs. 4,000 and Rs. 10,000 – Jio will have a base rate which is 1/10th of this,” Ambani said. “Our data plans go even further with an effective rate of 5p/MB or Rs. 50/ GB.” Students will get 25 percent extra data on the tariffs, if they show a valid ID when signing up for Jio.